Integrating Cognitive, Emotional, Somatic, and Intuitive Dimensions for Navigating Complexity
Author: Nils von Heijne / nils@innrwrks.com Awareness Association/Multi-Intelligence Institute Jan 2026
We may be crossing a threshold: from seeing teams, organizations and societies as mechanical systems to understanding them as living, sensing, adaptive collectives.
In an era defined by complexity, uncertainty, and interdependence, it is increasingly clear that cognitive intelligence alone is insufficient for navigating the challenges we face. This paper introduces Multi-Intelligence (MI) not as a finished model or prescriptive solution, but as a working hypothesis and experimental practice orientation: the idea that human beings and human systems function more wisely when multiple dimensions of knowing—cognitive, emotional, somatic, and intuitive—are consciously activated and integrated by individuals and collectives.
Multi-Intelligence appears to be enhanced through structured practices and ceremonial amplifiers such as sound, breath, movement, entheogenic substances, nature immersion, silence, and rituals that can induce altered states of consciousness. Our early field experiments suggest that these modalities help individuals and groups access deeper coherence, attunement, and insight, but much remains to be tested, refined, and understood.
This white paper outlines the current hypothesis behind MI, the theoretical basis supporting it, and the initial experiments conducted within the Awareness Association—including the 2025 Colorado study—where MI practices were applied to a shared question. These experiments are designed to explore whether, and how, MI can support navigating complex organizational and societal challenges.
At its heart, MI is question-driven rather than solution-driven. We treat “living questions”—questions that cannot be conclusively answered, only continually inquired into—as catalysts for activating MI. When individuals or groups orient around a shared question, we observe that MI functions less like a method and more like a compass for personal, collective, and systemic guidance. This white paper shares what we have learned so far, and outlines the ongoing research needed to understand MI’s potential—and its limits—as a pathway for navigating complexity.
The major challenges of our time—climate instability, ecological collapse, geopolitical tension, technological disruption, polarization—are increasingly recognized as complex systems problems, not merely complicated technical ones (Meadows, 1999; Snowden & Boone, 2007; Ostrom, 2009).